Paul williams



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PAUL rWILLIAMS, OF WIN O NA, MI SSISYSIPPI. Letters Patent l\7o. 73,683, dated Jennery 21, 1868.

IMPROVED COTTON-PRESS.

TO ALL WHOM I'l MAY CONCERN: Y

Be it knowncthat I, PAUL WILLIAMS, of' Winona, in the county of Choctaw, and State of Mississippi, have inven ted a new and useful Improvement in Cotton-Presses; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciication, in which- Figure 1 is a side .elevation of my press, with certain removed sections for the better exhibition lof its parts.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same, with a cross-section of the lever-head, through the line :c m', fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in cotton-presses, and consists of the combination of a lever having a long and short arm, with a vertical screwfto actuate "the same, whereby the follow-block receives its motion from the shorter arm of said lever, andis forced down with great power. Other devices, perfecting the whole, render this press more simple than, and equally ciieutive with, any cotton-press heretofore known or used.

In the drawings, A is the lever-beam, having a long and short arm, vas shown. The beam has a pivotfulernm in the uprights B. The .fulcr'um-bolt b is wrought iron, and sniiieiently large to endure the strain brought upon it. It rests in the uprights B, which latter shouldbe of tough wood. The lever-beam thus works between the said uprights, which latter are secured to the bed-sills l) by the bolster-block E and cross-piece F, which pass respectively below and above the said bed-sills, and in firm contact with the surfaces ofthe same. A cross-piece, G, secures the upper ends'of the uprights, thus assisting to secure the same. At that end of the bedsill immediately under thelongcr arm of the lever-bea1n is a metallic stcp-bcaring, d, which receives the gudgeon z', on the base of the screw H, as shown. This step is simply a Vhemispherical indentation, which will permit a slight deviation of the vscrew from the perpendicular without cramping thc gudgeon z'. This screw actuates the" lever-beam by means of a partiallyrevolving tap, I, which is held in and against a circular recess, m, in the lever-beam by circular iron straps, n, embracing the tap, and bolted to the lower beam, as shown. The object of this partially-revolving tap is to permit the vibration of the lever and screw as the press is operated, and without which device, or its equivaient, the screw could not be applied directly to the lever to actuate it upA or down. The screw, after passing the tap, passes through a mortise in the beam, andthe front end,f, of said mortise is bevelled, for the purpose of permitting the lever-beam to assume the proper angle of inclination when its long arm is depressed to elevate the follow-block .I within the box K containing the cotton. The said box K is make in the ordinary manner of cotton-presses, having vertical planks, L ,.arranged within, and

secured to a stout framework, e, as shown.' This bex rests on the front Yend of the short arm ofthe lever-beam,

at such a distance from the centre line of thc pivot-bolt b, that the thrust-beam M, attached to the follow-block, will be quite or nearly `vertical when the long arm of the lever-beam is eleva-ted to its highest point, as shown in the figure. The bale will then be compressed sufficiently to be removed from the press,- after the bale has been roped in the usual manner. The thrust-beam M is made with a circular head, 7L,Which ts in and against a circular recess, a, in the lever-beam. When the cotton lis being compressed, this head and recesspartakc of the strain due to the resistance of the cotton, but when the follow-block is to be withdrawn, after the bale has been pressed and ropcd, a plate, g, and bolt, 7c, forming a hinge device, as shown, then takes the strain, which strain svsimply the weight of the follow-block and thrust-beam. An arm, Z, set into a hole in the base, p, of the screw, serves to apply the power for operating the press. The lower part of, the box K is removable in the ordinary manner, being composed of the sides e', and similar ends, not shown in the drawing, all ofwhich" are held against. the bottom, e, and bevelled joints of the planking 'e of the upper part of the boi, thus forming a continuation of the same, as shown.

To employ this press, the hand-le Z is turned till the follow-block J is raised clear of the box; it will then swing more or less clear of the open tap of the same. Cotton in suilicient quantity for a bale of the ordinary sizc is placed in the box, and the follow-block swung back over the opening. The handle lis then 'tnrned to press the cotton. When the follow-block has got to vthe position shown in the drawing, the removable sides and ends are taken away and the bale loped in the usual way.

By hanging the lever-beam by a bolt in the criitch-of a stout tree, the bed-sills D and uprights B B may be dispensed with, for large block resting on the ground will serve to sustain the thrust of the screw H, and the .screw or lever as part of my press,.but

'box K, with its general frame @,can rest directly upon the ground.' v Thus the press will be made still more simple, and quite as eil'eotive. i

The advantages ofths press consist chiefly in its simplicity, durability, and chenpness, together with the important feature that it can be worked by hand impressing cotton, and is the simplest hand-press for that pur- POse that-hats been heretofore used. i' t ,i I 4 v i i I am aware that cotton-presses operated by levers or screws are in daily use, but these are employed in combination with other mechanism, and allure more or less complicated. I therefore do not claim broadly :L

What I do claim as new", :md desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-` l. Combining the lever-beam A with the screwII, follower J, and thrust-beam M, to form a cotton-press,

substantially as shown and described.

2. The partially-revolving tap I, combined with its recess m and the screw II and lever-beam A of u cotton- I press, substantially aus shown and described, and for the purpose specified.

The above specification 'of my invention signed by me, this 15th day of Ootober,`1SG".

PA UL WILLIAMS. Witnesses: l

C. G. MARSHALL, C. G. DANIEL. 

